May 2024 ‘Prophesy is a good line of business, but it is full of risks.’ – Mark Twain Welcome to our second letter of 2024. In a meeting recently someone uttered the words, ‘this is the fastest year ever’ and in a moment of reflection, I concluded that not only was it spot on with […]
Euphoria And Debt Needs Balance Read More »
February 2024 ‘No man ever wetted clay and then left it, as if there would be bricks by chance and fortune.’ – Plutarch Welcome to 2024, a new unwritten chapter that I trust will be full of opportunity and in the words of Jason Mraz “may the best of your todays be the worst of
Words and Ideas Can Change Things Read More »
“Truths and roses have thorns about them” – Henry David Thoreau It is a little while since I last wrote but that is not for the want of trying. Information with which we all juggle, has been constantly changing, and at a pace that had the potential to make a mockery of any view or
It Is Not All Chocolates and Roses Read More »
“Ride the horse in the direction that it’s going” – Werner Erhard The title of this document suggests how asset prices are currently behaving depending on which asset class or investment you are looking at. There does appear to be a trend but to say it is one-directional would be inaccurate and I sense a
Up, Down, Sideways And A Round Trip Read More »
“One may miss the mark by aiming too high as too low” – Thomas Fuller Since our last deliberations surrounding the prospect of negative interest rates in New Zealand, investors have had a plethora of new information to consider. Alongside a resurgence of the pandemic globally and domestically leading to a second lockdown for the
New Zealand and the Spectre Of Negative Interest Rates – Part 2 Read More »
“I’ve never responded well to entrenched negative thinking” – David Bowie In the corridors of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ), an important discussion is rumbling on to the beat of drums. The topic of these discussions is squeezed into the column inches of the financial press and could easily be overlooked. But the
New Zealand and the Spectre Of Negative Interest Rates – Part 1 Read More »
“Between stimulus and response, there is a place where we choose our response” – Stephen Covey The origin of the quote is a little mysterious and it is likely that Stephen Covey’s was not the original but an abbreviation of another. However, to my mind it perfectly encapsulates the situation in which we now find
COVID-19 & The Budget – Update 6 Read More »
“Anyone in recovery knows that isolation is the biggest enemy” – Ivan Moody Ivan Moody’s quote is about his battle with alcoholism and recognition that the path to success is hardest when taken alone. I would liken his path to the one we need to take today and over the coming months in the restoration
COVID-19 & the Global Economy – Update 5 Read More »
“We’re still in a recession. We’re not going to be out of it for a while, but we will get out.” – Warren Buffet What a striking statement that is or more accurately was. Mr Buffet said that during the last major setback that investment markets endured, namely the Global Financial Crisis or GFC. It
COVID-19 & the Global Economy – Update 4 Read More »
“Care shouldn’t start in the emergency room” – James Douglas As we start the week, I feel it appropriate to reflect on the rapidly evolving situation confronting the worlds’ nations. This is important! All too often, in times of stress, our thinking can become confused and we can behave differently, irrationally and often to our
COVID-19 & the Global Economy – Update 3 Read More »
